Action: Armed Forces Minister Andrew Robathan is suing the firm which made metal hip implants that he claims caused a tumour in his leg

Armed Forces Minister Andrew Robathan is to sue a firm that made a ‘toxic’ hip implant which left him with a tumour in his leg.

Mr Robathan, has been left in constant pain and has difficulty even standing for long periods of time after he was fitted with the ‘metal-on-metal’ implant – which tests have showed can become warn down and poison the bloodstream.

The former SAS officer, who served during the first Gulf War, is among tens of thousands of people to receive the implants, which were the subject of a health warning after it was found that tiny metal fragments could break off of them over time.

Mr Robathan had an operation to resurface both of his hips seven years ago, when doctors inserted the ASR Hip System implant which is manufactured by DePuy, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

He developed a non-cancerous tumour at the top of his leg, and was told by his doctor that it was linked to the implants, the Telegraph reports.

The devices, which have been fitted to around 10,000 British patients, had already been recalled following safety fears by then.

Health watchdogs in 2012 said that those who had been fitted with them should undergo annual medical checks. DePuy had recalled its implants two years previously.

Mr Robathan, 61 – who has been told he will have to have a double hip replacement, said that although the implants he was fitted with have been recalled, it is ‘more tricky’ to simply recall something that is ‘stuck inside you.’

‘At first I was resigned to the fact that something had just gone wrong,’ he told the Telegraph, ‘but I went from being resigned about the situation to being absolutely angry.

Warning: More than 10,000 people in the UK were fitted with the metal-on-metal hip implants (stock picture)

‘I am in contact with lawyers with a view to taking legal action,’ he said.

A DePuy spokesman said the firm regrets the ASR Hip System did not perform as expected for some patients and that it is committed to addressing medical costs directly associated with the recall, the Telegraph reports.

In October 2012 Mr Robathan, who is married with two children, was told to calm down by the deputy speaker after complaining about noise levels from the public gallery in the House of Commons.